We’ve all seen the headlines about Perth being the centre of the mining boom. With an abundance of iron ore and other minerals on its doorstep, the Western Australian capital has been shaped by Australia’s natural resources.But lesser known is that Perth is now at the centre of another boom: the digital boom. Today, we’ve announced the City of Perth as Australia’s top eTown. This new Google award recognises and ranks those communities which are outpacing the rest of the country in having its small businesses use the web to connect with customers and grow.The web is transforming all businesses in Australia, not just those typically considered to be “Internet businesses”. The digital economy is already worth as much as Australia’s iron ore exports, according to Deloitte Access Economics, and it’s forecast to grow by $20 billion to $70 billion by 2016. To provide a snapshot of this vital economic activity, Google looked at more than 600 local government areas to analyse which communities had the highest proportion of small businesses who are either using Google AdWords to find customers, or have created a website using the free Getting Aussie Business Online tool. Taking into account relative population, we’ve identified 10 eTowns whose businesses are leading the way in this digital boom.

Metropolitan

City of Perth, WA

City of Yarra, VIC

City of Adelaide, SA

North Sydney, NSW

Ryde, NSW

Regional

Byron Shire, NSW

Meander Valley, TAS

Cessnock, NSW

Wingecarribee Shire, NSW

Scenic Rim Regional Council, QLD

The Yoga Space, located within Australia’s top eTown, is using the web to connect with new and existing customers. Business owners Jean and Rob have a great website which helps you find basic information like their address and phone number. And when they have a new class or special retreat, Jean and Rob turns on an online advertising campaign to help fill their spaces. They can then turn it off as soon as they’re full. The web has made it a lot easier for Jean and Rob to find the busy mum in the suburbs or the fly-in-fly-out miner looking for that inner balance. Unlike the mining boom, geography doesn’t matter when it comes to taking part in the digital economy. Whether you’re located a big city like North Sydney or in the rural villages of The Scenic Rim in Queensland, the internet is empowering businesses everywhere as the entire world becomes your local market.You can also see the full-list of winners on an interactive map here, as well as find stories about Aussie businesses succeeding online and driving our economic growth.

Posted by Claire Hatton, Head of Local Business, Google Australia and New Zealand